Walshe walking on air after Curtis Cup success
Yes, she caught herself thinking of the legendary golfers who had made golf history over the same sod on which she was walking last week. The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, has that sort of effect on you.
But never did Alison Walshe get sidetracked from the job at hand, which she finished in a flawless manner. Solid with her ball-striking, deft with her short game, determined in the face of pressure, the pride of Westford went undefeated in her four matches to help the United States roll to an easy 13-7 win over Great Britain and Ireland in the 35th Curtis Cup Matches.
"The greatest experience of my golf life," said Walshe, who at 23 already has lived quite a golf odyssey. "I don't think I could have asked for a better way for it to have played out."
Many of Walshe's golf experiences have been well documented - how she played her freshman year at Boston College, transferred to Tulane, only to have that school drop women's golf in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, which necessitated a move to the University of Arizona. There, a settled Walshe developed into one of the nation's premier amateurs and everything she did in St. Andrews will only help enhance her reputation.
Even if she will no longer have Stacy Lewis by her side?
The question gives Walshe reason to laugh, because they were a formidable pair in the Curtis Cup. They won twice in foursomes and once in four-ball, but to prove that she could handle things on her own, Walshe cemented her perfect tournament by winning 1 up over Sally Watson in singles.
"I played well, but it's the experience that was remarkable," said Walshe, who was accompanied by her parents and many relatives from Ireland, where she was born. It meant she played against her native country, but it was all for a good cause.
Walshe's accomplishment wasn't the only standout performance by a New England woman golfer last week. There was a trio of others who made significant gains in their pursuit of pro golf careers.
Briana Vega, for instance. The 26-year-old from Andover shot 71-71-74 in Lake Geneva, Wis., to finish tied for second, her best performance in her four years on the Futures Tour.
In her native state, Lynn Valentine was the model of perseverance as she broke through on her 11th try to win the Connecticut State Women's Open at Trumble Brook CC in Broomfield.
And for Susan Choi of Natick and Wellesley College, one of her first trips into the professional arena nearly ended in dramatic fashion, only she lost in a three-way playoff at a Canadian Women's Tour event outside of Vancouver.
If there's a common denominator for all four, it's that they're operating well below the radar screen, but that's part of the package when amateur and minitour golf provide the theaters. It doesn't diminish their passion, however.
"I worked harder than ever all winter and it's nice to see it pay off in some way," said Valentine, a native of East Lyme, but a member of the pro staff at Worcester Country Club for several years. These days she's winding down her duties at Bear Lakes CC in West Palm Beach, Fla., before jumping full time to the Futures Tour. At 32, the University of Hartford graduate is still committed to her dream of an LPGA Tour career and the win at Trumble Brook certainly helped raise the confidence level.
Valentine closed with a 71 -146 to edge fellow Futures Tour player Sue Ginter by one stroke and collect the $5,000 winner's check.
For Choi, who only five months ago turned pro and is still involved in The Golf Channel's latest "Big Break" show, the trip to Canada underscored the travails of fledgling professionals. Unable to afford the trip on her own, Choi was backed by Golf Fitness Magazine and she is featured on its home page. She nearly made it a most profitable one, too, because she made birdies on five of six holes down the stretch to get into a tie at the end of regulation, before a par on the first extra hole eliminated her.
Vega didn't get as far as a playoff, but she gave it a spirited effort. Just two shots behind through 36 holes in the Aurora Health Care Classic, the graduate of North Carolina State had her ball-striking game in rare form. But her work on the greens let her down - "My putter really killed me."
Vega hit 17 greens, but four three-putts led to a closing 74 as she settled for a share of second, three strokes back. Disheartening, yes, but the former WGAM standout pushed to 17th on the money list and said she'll take nothing but positives into her next tournament, June 12-15, in Decatur, Ill.
Walshe's next tournament will be Monday, a US Women's Open qualifier in Rockville, Md. She'll compete as an amateur, as she will later this summer when she tries to defend her title at the North & South Women's Amateur at Pinehurst and competes at the US Women's Amateur, but come fall, "I'll turn pro and try to be ready for Q School," she said.
It'll be just another step in her golf odyssey.
